Old Hitches
by Bryn'ryo'ishtar
Summary: Mevolent is back, and totally reformed.  With the Church of the Faceless & the sanctuary on the path to peace, there is more chaos than ever, and each event is seemingly weirder than the one before it.  Oh, and someone got Valkyrie pregnant...
1. Chapter 1

**Please be nice to me. I'm pretty new at the fan fiction writing, but I do want to keep this story as good as I can, and believe me I'm trying my best. Obviously, Derek owns this story, not me, and he's fantastic. However, despite all that, I'm going to try to keep this story as original and yet down to earth Skulduggery-y (don't think that's a word) as I can. Thanks for reading **

Outside of Gordon's mansion where Valkyrie lay, half asleep, the rain drizzled lazily in the hazy humid air, just after a thunderstorm. She had her head on her very, very warm forehead, but didn't dare call Skulduggery or her parents to take her to any doctor. She knew exactly what she was sick with and it made the rain outside terrifyingly depressing.

Although she didn't often, she allowed herself to reflect.

Among Valkyrie's friends, there was a running joke. It was that Valkyrie Cain did not mess up often- but when she did, she messed up _bad. _

She hated- deep in the marrow of her bones and DNA- hat they were about to be proven right.

It had all started in a nightclub in Dublin. It was a Friday night, she'd had the night off and Skulduggery had let her go, despite the huge drama that was occurring in the magical community and the manhunt for a mass-murderer.

Mevolent was back.

And strangely passive. While he'd been gone- supposedly defeated- he'd left the influence of his peers, and fellow worshippers, a good affect for him, apparently. There were rumors that Mevolent was searching for a way to live in the open, and to form a truce with the sanctuary.

Skulduggery thought-and Valkyrie agreed- that it was all probably bullshit.

After dedicated his entire life, killing millions and then just… changing his mind? Skulduggery had pointed this out at the short meeting with Erskine, Ghastly, Mist and other higher-ups in the sanctuary, and they'd given him permission to hunt Mevolent down and bring him back.

Unharmed, sadly enough.

That had been a week before the nightclub incident, and the manhunt hadn't been going very well. It was confirmed that Mevolent was in Ireland, but after that it was like he… just disappeared into the bowels of Dublin city.

It probably would have been smarter for Valkyrie to take her partying- which she wasn't supposed to be doing in the first place- outside of Dublin, knowing that. It would have been smarter, knowing she had hours upon hours of hard work ahead of her, to get some much-needed sleep. And yet that teenage state of mind, that impatience and restlessness made her hesitate to even look at her bed.

It could have been the excitement and anticipation of the week that was getting to her, it could have been the stories her friends at school told about the wild, crazy parties and the wild crazy boys that made her ache, just a little, to be able to experience that.

Patience was never her virtue, anyway.

She pulled out her little black dress, deep from the bowels of her closet, and smiled. It was tight, by design, and although it wouldn't have fit her a year ago, and it might not fit her the next year, on that day, it fit perfectly. So rather feeling like a criminal; she climbed into it and admired herself in the mirror. It made her look totally different. Older, with better cheekbones (not that they needed to be improved in the first place) and it elegantly displayed a womanly figure that even Valkyrie was surprised to find had been hiding under a black suit for probably quite a while.

Feeling somewhat smug, she put more makeup on than usual, even though she wasn't quite sure if she was going out yet or where, and admired the results once again.

Gorgeous. Stunning.

She and Fletcher had broken up about a month or so ago, and while she'd flirted around and there were some boys out there with definite potential, she felt like she needed just one more night, just one, to finally and totally get over any and everything Fletcher ever meant to her.

He had been a sweet, loyal boyfriend after all. Maybe not the perfect guy for her, but she still had allowed a few reserved feelings to blossom for him, and it was those feeling that she was confident she could kill.

She didn't bother with stilettos, she didn't trust them, and instead pulled out a pair of boots that went up past her knees, an odd gift from Crystal and Carol. It took her a while to lace them up, but was appeased when she saw her reflection.

She slipped out her window, a normal act for her, but oddly thrilling on that night, and slipped out for a taxi that she allowed to take her all the way to the heart of Dublin, and it's best nightclub.

Valkyrie had no idea what she was about to get herself into that night, and what she was about to start.

On that same night, Mevolent was making plans. The worst type, too. The plans he was making... did not include anything fun. There was no interest array of people. No shaken prisoner cowering in the corner. No glamorous, pleased women. Not even tea for him to drink. Mevolent sat in a smokey, dirty room, by a window that had a coating of dirt no chemicals could remove, and he brooded. And brooded. And then brooded some more. In times of brooding, normally he'd sit in a nice, clean room, surrounded by relics of his old religion, and highly intelligent people.

It was, quite possibly, the intelligent people he missed the most.

Teenagers, insecure and high on the party that was shaking the walls, screamed and shouted beneath the thin floorboards. His brain rattled with it. His skeleton shook from it. His blood screamed to it. He kept one hand firmly pressed against his temple, and was aware that it wasn't doing much to hold back a rather intense headache. He'd had many, many options to chose from. Many places he could go. Despite what they told the sanctuary after the War ended, their were more of his followers than their were back in the day. More and more people who would be willing to fight for him.

Along time ago, it would have irked him to no extent that the reason that they followed him was not out of loyalty for the Faceless Ones, but rather out of confidence of his political grace. Currently though, the knowledge that the Church of the Faceless, and hopefully all they stood for, was falling pleased him. When he was younger, he was inspired by the Faceless Ones. He had made people inspired by the Faceless Ones, and yet...

He understood and accepted now that the Faceless Ones were not the gods he had dreamed them to be. Now, if he mentioned the Faceless Ones at all, it was just to get his former allies back on his side.

He didn't believe in the good the Faceless Ones would do for him anymore. He did believe in the good a lot of strong, powerful allies and political power would do for him, however.

"Sir?" A chubby man said from behind him, a greasy t-shirt and fake, cheesy riped clothes that made Mevolent grimace. He forced a good, kind, friendly smile, and turned to the good man that'd offered him shelter. He'd accepted DJ Wicked's offer on the single account of it was the place no one would think to look for him. A silly, crazy nightclub in the bad side of town of Dublin.

"Mr. Wicked." He said with a voice as smooth as the Skeleton detective's, only there was a deep, baritone edge to his and the words that came out of his mouth could make anyone shiver. "Is there something wrong? Surely, there is some problem; you wouldn't come up here just to see me, would you, when you have such an important job?"

"O-Oh, no, sir. There is no problem. It's not a problem at all, really, to come and see you." The cheap, chubby man babbled. "I really do appreciate it. It's just well... about my job..."

"Yes?" Mevolent asked, his voice soft, patient. He was not prepared for the audacity of what the man would say next.

"Well, sir... normally, you see... we use this room for the guests." There was a note of assertiveness in his voice that worried Mevolent, but he kept his face neutral, waiting. If nothing else, Mevolent could be a gentleman. "I need you to leave."

"Pardon?" There was a blank look in Mevolent's eyes. No one had said something like that to him since he overtook the thrown from under the King's nose.

"I need you to leave this room. I have to use it for the guests. I know it's not safe for you to go outside..." Damn straight it wasn't safe for Mevolent to go outside. There were hundreds of Sanctuary agents combing the streets as they spoke. Mevolent gaped at the man, undignified. "So, if you could, just, go downstairs and, oh, I don't know... Mingle with the partygoers, that would be... great, actually."

And that was how, on the eve of change, Mevolent would met his ultimate nemisis- a young woman, by the name of Valkyrie Cain.

**Thanks for reading. I'll have the next chapter soon, hopefully. If it's taking too long for you, feel free to bug me. It motivates me, promise. Yell at me to write the next chapter, at any time and I'll get to it. (... just don't be really mean...)**


	2. Chapter 2

Valkyrie Cain had all the best moves. The most current, the ones most flattering, she had moves the other girls on the dance floor hadn't even thought of.

She also had some old classics, ones that Tanith, and a few other women working at the Sanctuary had showed her, promising its efficiency. Some days when they got bored at the Sanctuary, Tanith would show Valkyrie a few better moves, or it'd be apart of her training, to get her muscles in shape in a good way.

She was seriously appreciating it all now, swinging to and away from men, playfully snatching them away from their dancing partners with the cunning of a vixen. She was glad she'd taken the time away from her exciting-yet-normal-day crime-hunting madness to do this. She knew she wouldn't be getting an off day tomorrow, the hunt for Mevolent still going strong, but she shoved the consequences to the corner of her mind. It didn't matter now, anyway.

She paused for a moment on the dance floor, her throat dry. She'd been using elemental tricks and gimmicks to stay at the top of her game during the night, keeping herself cool and fresh while subtly pushing the dance partners she didn't want away with the lightest touch of her hand. She considered moisturizing her mouth by manipulating the air, but part of the fun of nightclubs was getting really, really drunk, and she didn't want to miss that. Also, she wasn't too sure that nightclub air was the safest thing to breath, let alone drink.

At the corner of the room, the wallflowers and the tired clung to the walls, some of them only pausing a moment after getting their drinks to going back to their partners to chat. A handsome man stood among them, gaining Valkyrie's easily excitable attention. He was attractive, with a firm, muscular body and nice hair, that looked almost blond, but something told Valkyrie that it was the lights, and there was something odd about that. It was back in a short ponytail, and she wondered what he'd look like with it down. She wondered if the reason why he was hanging by the wall was because he was ugly.

She approached cautiously, not wanting to get her hopes up. She noticed a blond moving to take the empty seat next to him, but she glared at the blond with all the challenge she could muster and looking a little bit flustered, the other women retreated to a safer distance.

"What'll you be having, sweetheart?" The bartender asked, noticing the exchange with amusement. "Drinks free for such a pretty girl."

She gave him a gorgeous predator's smile, forgetting her curiosity, in the mood for some mischief. "Give these types of drinks often?"

"I don't see girls like you often," The young bartender said back with a charming grin, reminding her of Dexter Vex, a man she'd only meet once, but had heard of a million times. It made her grin to think that that was exactly the type of thing he'd say.

"What's good?"

He shrugged. "Ask the people around you." He said, a bit colder.

Valkyrie detected a marketing scheme but was reservedly unoffended. Remembering one of the reasons why she'd come over, besides her thirst, she turned the attractive man sitting next to her.

He did look…. Out of place.

His clothes spoke of money and power, and his eyes were cold and observed… everything, all the while a gentleman's posture and a faint smile kept him from being too frightening for the crowds to bare. Valkyrie knew instinctively that she wouldn't like this man if that gentlemanliness came down.

Kind of… like Caelan.

Oh, he was definitely beautiful like Caelan. His eyes were a deep, hypnotizing brown and his cheekbones were something to match Valkyrie's. The fact that her first comparison of him had been between him and Caelan made her uneasy but…

What was the likely hood she'd discover another psycho, right after the last one?

Deep inside of her, she knew that it was the challenge that attracted her to them, that ambitious glow in the back of their eyes. Oh and she _definitely _liked this one. He burned brighter than anyone, as far as she could tell.

Except… maybe Skulduggery…

She shook her head of the thought, and gave the man next to her a mischievous look. She asked loudly, "Do you have any idea why people come here?" The bartender's head turned towards her, "The service seems to be somewhat lacking."

"I couldn't imagine why, no. The music's awful." He said, playing along.

"The service is terrible."

"The food isn't fresh."

"The service is terrible," She sang, tormenting the bartender.

"The service is terrible," He agreed, and the bartender scowled at them.

"Okay," He said to Valkyrie, "No free drinks for you."

"Pity."

"You two," He said, stumbling slightly for acid words, only pointing miserably, "are really perfect for each other, you know that? Just perfect."

"And with that," The man said, "may I take this dance from you?" He held a hand to Valkyrie, giving her that gorgeous smile, wickedness behind it. She could match that wickedness, hand in hand, but she smiled beautifully and decided that she'd save her wicked side for later in the evening.

"I'd like that." Her throat was still dry but she forgot about it entirely, standing close enough to kiss him.

"Buy you a drink afterwards," He murmured, almost to himself, like he was going through the steps. That upset Valkyrie. She didn't want to be one of the girls that he used his "steps" on.

"Maybe." She said, and pushed him onto the dance floor, a face-paced traditional song coming in better than the other songs. She let him start out the dance, but quickly took control, determined that she'd move faster, and better than him.

The goal in her mind, held high, that she was going to out-do him, and throw him away, just like she did all her other boy-toys in the club.

Valkyrie allowed that smile- crueler than she remembered- to shine through with dark radiance on her face.

What a curious girl, Mevolent thought, forced to focus on the dance, and on making sure she didn't get away. The challenge made it fun, though, to chase after her.

She, though, she was good. She was gorgeous, normally he didn't go for the type of girls who were toughened, like he suspected she was by the hardness of her muscles and the firmness in her eyes. He like girls passive. He liked the girls that were easy to manipulate, gentle and timid, easily led through the dance floor. He saw so many tough girls in his line of business, that he appreciated a good, sweet girl.

She was different.

She had to be a model, or an actress, of some type. Her legs were long and her body was something to die for. Her hair was dark and long, with a silky quality to it. Her lips were red, her cheekbones sharp and her skin the color of new bones in the moonlight. Her eyes were dark.

She wasn't easy to led, and the moment his concentration slipped, she off, trying to find another partner.

She was a challenge, and he wanted her badly.

She knew how to dance, and kept perfect pace with him. Daring, sometimes, even to try and led _him. _It kept his heartbeat up and made his skin ache for more.

She'd smile so sweetly at him one moment, be timid and feminine for his eyes to see, then do something sneaky and challenging like change the dance steps or the pattern that they were following, with no warning and wait with that intense, ambitious light in her eyes for him to mess up.

He realized now that she could be the best he'd ever get, but that he wasn't going to get it easily. He had to meet her standards.

So he bought her a drink, whatever she wanted, flirted with her, said the right things, and waited for the right time to take her aside.

He was saying all the right things to Valkyrie, perfectly by the book, perfectly the gentlemen: and almost impossible to throw off his game. Fine. She'd keep trying. She was never going to let him steal away her heart, or her fun.

"I think… I'm falling in love with you." He said to her, his eyes sweet. He was lying, she knew. He always looked sweet when he was lying. She surprised herself by how well she could interpret him, just after four or five hours.

"That's so nice." She said flatly, seeing him focus and flinch slightly in surprise. She probably wasn't being fair: going from listening and receptive one moment to cold and cruel the next. "But, darling, I'm not interested in love." She turned from him, wondering if he'd come after her, indifferent.

"Then another dance," He said quietly, looking at her oddly. "You are not like the other girls."

"You are exactly like all the other guys," She said, pulling away from him.

He snapped her back to her, his hand hard around her wrist, eyes glowering. Dangerous. Attractive.

He was just like Caelan, but there was a elegance in his eyes that Caelan hadn't had. He stretched out her hand, and gracefully put one hand on her waist for the next dance.

She didn't like to be told what to do.

Fine. She was tired of taking the female's position. She wanted more from him. She put a hand on _his _waist and took the male's position, for the waltz. The handsome man looked at her inquizedly, suddenly a gentleman again.

"If you want me," she murmured in his ear, close to him. "You're going to have to do better than that."

The words she whispered breathily made Mevolent's spine run cold and his blood pump hard. They stood almost still on the dance floor, almost two o'clock in the morning.

"You're going to have to be worse than me."

Fine. She wanted to see his bad side? That was exactly what she was going to get.

He'd fight to get her. He'd fight her to keep her. He'd pull out all of his bad tricks, and his worse side that none of his previous lovers had seen. Mevolent would make this beautiful girl accept him as the best. He'd win her for the night.

And, miraculously, he did.


	3. Chapter 3

Valkyrie woke up in a strange, overly large bed, in strange circumstances. For one thing: she was naked. Stark naked. As she quickly realized this, like any rational person, she started looking for her clothes, just in case. They lay all over the room, all over the place. The room was a bit like a loft, open and modern. It overlooked Dublin, she was pretty sure, because she could see landmarks that she vaguely remembered out the window. She focused back on the clothes situation. They were…

Something like torn to shreds. Just a bit.

The second strange circumstance was the odd little things lying around. A handcuff, which she was vaguely sure wasn't hers because she hadn't brought anything but the black dress to the…

Oh. Now she was starting to remember.

A blush crept to her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. She wasn't the type of girl who liked… that sort of thing. Or… was she? There was so much that even she didn't know about herself, she didn't think it fair to make any assumptions.

Still, the tight ropes that twined around her waist and the black, serious black handcuffs that held her hands captive seemed a little bit off the deep end. Not that she hadn't enjoyed it. It was a sadistic thing, the way he'd acted towards her. The way she'd acted towards him. She considered that maybe it was Darquesse who'd been the one that had led her to enjoy it.

So, there were her ripped up clothes, the handcuffs, and the ropes. There was just one key element missing from the room, the final piece. The man. She sighed. She'd been turned towards the wall, her face down. She had difficulty calling his face to mind. Cheekbones, hair and that cute little tattoo that she'd tried to rip off his back last night with her nails. She remembered that.

She looked around the room. He hadn't bothered to untie her or to even leave a note. Figures. That's what happened when you hooked up with some random weirdo in a nightclub.

She heard Dublin outside the window, the morning bustling and chatter filtering through the window. Now it was time to untie and make a sneaky retreat. Possibly out the window. If necessary.

She could probably borrow some clothes, too. It was the least he could give her for what she'd given him. Wasn't that always the way it went for men and women? She had no idea where he'd been. At least she was healthy; he could be full of diseases and infections. Yuck.

Now for her to get untied. She pulled a little bit, fussed and moved this way and that, but the knots held strong. The man knew something about tying, did he? Well, she knew something about knots, too, she thought vehemently, using her teeth to pull at various bits of the knots. They didn't give.

Valkyrie frowned, and felt a twig of anxiety. He… he really knew about tying people up, didn't he? Knew a lot about tying women up…

She shuddered, to think she'd slept with such a creeper. He was probably a pedophile. Someone who stalked little kids at parks, if he had handcuffs ready at hand and went to hang out a nightclubs.

She stopped sheepishly. On the other hand: she hung out a nightclubs, had handcuffs handy, knew knots and had been just as willing- if not slightly more forward about it- last night.

She had to calm down and figure out the knots. They'd been done with experience, but made to tighten when she pulled away. She realized he'd probably done that when he'd gotten frustrated with how she hadn't wanted to lay down passively for him. Well, she thought with a huff, she knew he enjoyed having her fight him back. He couldn't deny it to her.

Her teeth hit a lucky bend and the ropes, painfully slow and made to make her muscles burn, pulled away on her right hand. She got the next and the one around her waist off easier and managed to get out of the overly large bed, and stumbled a little bit, her whole body sore.

Well, he'd spared no expense making her body burned, did he? Valkyrie stretched a moment, feeling muscles she'd never used before burn. Feeling self-conscious- which angered her a bit, she didn't like to feel weak- despite the fact that she knew he wasn't around, she stalked to his closet. There weren't much for clothes there, about enough to fill a small backpack, but it gave her a petty sense of satisfaction that she could take a pair from him. She pulled out a pair of his pants- she left his boxers alone, it'd be a bit too petty to take those- and a casual shirt that smelled like him.

That would have to be all, for the moment. She didn't dare stay any longer. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was still early in the morning. Maybe he was a workaholic business man, she mused, her thoughts still on him, and left early to get breakfast before going to the office. She calmed herself that he was probably just an ordinary, if skilled and handsome, man. Maybe he'd expect her to stay and wait for him to get back, or something.

Well.

She was happy to disappoint.

Besides, it was about twenty minutes to the time when Skulduggery normally picked her up. Valkyrie had to _leave,_ to save her own skin. If she took a bus, called him and asked him nicely to give her another twenty minutes, and got all changed, she might be able to fool him. Even if she didn't manage to fool him, she figured that if she looked regretful enough he'd eventually forgive her. Thinking about Skulduggery now, all thoughts of the Man out of her head, she stopped wondering what his name was. She stopped worrying that she could be responsible for the seducing of a married man.

And that was how she walked out the apartment building that morning, without looking back.

She was a busy girl, after all.

Away from that, as Valkyrie had guessed correctly, Mevolent was eating breakfast, preparing to go to work for the day. Or, at least, what collifided as work in his head. In reality, it was a monumental day for him. It was the day when he'd send his preparations for peace out, testing the water, getting international support, to wear down the stubborn Irish council. In a week or two time, he'd leave Erskine- a man he remembered as a soldier not as a politician-, Ghastly and Madame Mist no choice but to except peace and forgiveness for all of his criminal followers. The time of the Faceless Ones had fallen. It was time for Mevolent to build up a new empire, where indeed, mortals were subservient, but all sorcerers lived in peace.

It would be a glorious thing, he was sure.

The women, he thought, and rubbed an uncomfortable hand over his arm, was a mortal, probably. She'd be a second-class citizen, if his plans came true. It made him a bit scared, to be honest, to think that the mortals had a power like that on their side. She'd frightened Mevolent even more when, in the morning, he'd woke with her in his arms, her silkly hair spread across his bed and her sweet, vanilla scent in his nose. He'd woken up with women before, normally only when he'd wanted something from them. She looked impossibly cute when she was asleep.

Damn force to be reckoned with when she was awake.

He smiled a bit affectionately, realized that he hoped to _any god_ he'd never see her again.

Then he stopped thinking about her. She became just a memory to him, a good one, surprisingly, of a new surprising love and challenge and a cute girl who'd slept in his arms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello there. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, by the way, and I hope you're going to enjoy reading it just as much. I own none of this: all the credit goes again to the Gold God of Awesomeness XD.**

The silence in the house as Valkyrie crept in was a bit intimidating. She half expected to see her mother bound down the stairs and demand to know where she'd been, like any normal mother. She glanced at the calendar, and saw that it was her little sisters' first day of preschool. She wanted to smack herself.

She'd been out,_ partying_ and her little sister had been starting preschool.

She sighed and glanced away.

At least her parents wouldn't be home to see she was missing. They thought she was responsible enough that they didn't have to keep tabs on her. She appreciated that. She was afraid that they might be wrong, still.

She was glad Skulduggery was coming over; he was always the best person for her to talk to when she felt distracted or impatient. Because, no matter how impatient or immature she was being, Skulduggery always managed to do something to one-up her.

She grabbed the dusty stone on her desk that would get rid of the bruises and bite marks and jumped into the shower. She let the clothes she'd "liberated" drop to the floor and let out a half blissful sigh. The shower slicked back her dark hair and revived her senses. She let her hand run down her side.

"Valkyrie." Someone said behind her. It wasn't Skulduggery. And it wasn't Fletcher (though she couldn't imagine what either of them would be doing in her private bathroom). Damn if that cold voice wasn't familiar, though.

Valkyrie froze and the water suddenly felt very cold.

"I don't mean to alarm you, but you're not alone."

Valkyrie spun, a shriek half-caught on her lips. Her foot slipped and her ankle twisted. She let out a hiss of surprise and pain and her knees came together as her ankle couldn't support her weight anymore. Her back hit the back of the shower and her hand instinctively reached out to support her. Water slide down her naked body and a strand of hair cradled her cheek.

Dusk stared at her.

"Perhaps maybe I should have waited until later to talk to you."

She finally got her breath and her voice back under control. "N-no kidding? What the hell are you even doing in my house?"

"I heard that you were spotted often around this area, and I've already tasted your blood so I just came to where you were. You just happened to be in the shower." There was no hesitation in his cold voice. His eyes were dark and unreadable, but if he'd been capable of breathing, his breath would have been hitching like crazy. He didn't want to take his eyes off of her, but he knew it might get a bit awkward later if he stared at her naked now. He looked to the side.

"You… you were there the whole… time?"

There was a pause. "Yes." He decided.

Valkyrie's face drained of color.

She didn't approve of girlish behavior or unnecessary emotions. She allowed herself an exception this time and grabbed the first thing her hand found- lotion, as it were- and hurled it at him with all the hellfire of all the girls in the world who have ever been walked in on.

If Dusk hadn't been a vampire, and a really experience vampire at that, there would have been no way to avoid the lotion bottle, moving as fast as it was.

Dusk decided to wait downstairs.

For the last bit of her shower, after making sure that there was absolutely NO ONE in the bathroom at all, Valkyrie turned it on cold and let chill the embarrassment and cloudiness away.

She got dressed quickly, unnerved that he was in her home, and slipped on her necromancer's ring. Dusk was a vampire, one that even Skulduggery was wary of, so she was pretty sure that if he really wanted to hurt her, he'd do just that, and that'd be the end of it. Until Skulduggery got here, that is.

Valkyrie glanced out the window. He'd sounded pretty merciful when she'd talked to him on the phone, and said he'd give her time to slip in a breakfast, too. That would be a problem, if he were to arrive too late. She moved quickly, digging for her phone. She looked in her bag. She looked in the pockets in all her jeans. She had a bad feeling she wasn't going to find it.

She kept looking stubbornly. After twenty minutes had passed since Dusk interrupted her in the shower, Valkyrie knew for sure it wasn't there. She scribbled a quick note for Skulduggery to read and left it underneath the drapes on her window where she was sure Skulduggery would see it right away.

_ Dusk showed up. If I'm gone, he's probably got me. If I'm dead, keep an eye on my little sister and don't let the Toxic Twins near my inheritance._

She stalked determinedly down the stairs. Forget what had just gone down: this was purely business.

"So sorry about that." He said from behind her and she jumped, her eyes wide. She spun around, scowling. He was standing in a corner from the staircase, exactly where she couldn't see him.

"What for? Watching me in the shower? Sneaking into my house? Speaking before I know where you are?"

"Mostly the first one. There are things that I needed to talk to you about, and I needed to tell you in total private." He explained and looked around for a moment. "You're all alone now, so I thought this would be the best time."

Valkyrie scowled and looked at him.

"Well? Say what you have to say. You're not welcome in my home, and you really shouldn't be staying too long." She let her arms hang down and watched him gather his thoughts. He made her stomach twist. He looked a bit like Caelan, handsome and dangerous, and the scar that still twisted over his face added an edge of imperfection that fascinated Valkyrie. Which was curious, she remembered when she was thirteen that the scar had held no appeal for her. She wondered what had changed between then and now.

"Fine. To business right away, then." He said, and stepped down the stairs in front of her. "Mind if I take a seat? This might take more than a minute or two." He sat down and pulled something out of her pocket. Her cellphone: the bastard. "You're not going to need this," He said calmly, "and you won't get it by force, either."

She looked at him silently for a moment, her eyes narrowed. She nodded once, accepting it. He sat down. She remained standing.

"Do you know your destiny?" He asked right away, and her eyes sharpened. Her breath split and she took a moment to watch him. She made a risky choice and decided to give it a try.

"I know what the psychics are seeing." She said slowly.

"Do you? Do you really know what the psychics are seeing?" This time it was he challenging her for information.

Valkyrie looked at him. He might know. "I know my destiny is more than what even the psychics think. I know more than the Elder Mages and the Sanctuary does."

Dusk looked at her, and nodded. "You're Darquesse."

She didn't bother clarifying it with him. It hadn't been a question anyway. "When did you figure it out? When you bite me? There was another vampire," she told him, "who tasted my blood."

"Idiot. Who _lets_ a vampire bite them?"

"Shut up. Besides, it was necessary at the time and relatively safe." She said and he raised an eyebrow. She glowered at Dusk. "Anyway, he saw nothing of any significance. You seemed to change your whole attitude right after spitting me out."

"How old was he?"

"Eh, about a hundred or so, I'd guess. It was Caelan. You know him, right?"

"I heard he died." His head tilted and he looked at her curiously. "That you killed him. Why'd you do that, I wonder?"

"None of your business. Tell me how you knew." She said and he shrugged the previous topic off.

"It takes a long time for a vampire to see the future in blood and details. I got enough of it to know, but I don't think that if I'd even been ten years younger at the time I'd have spotted it. For the past year or so, I've been looking for all the information I could about Darquesse. About you."

"Oh? And you found…?"

"Oh, little things, here and there. Even the best psychics in the world have been evaded of your identity: did you know that? Surprisingly, the people who know the least are Mevolent and his group. The Sanctuary knows the most, which in itself is a surprisingly small amount. So, I started broadening what I was searching for," He said and Valkyrie found herself leaning forward, interested. "You've been popping up in the dreams of all the strongest psychics for a long time, did you know that? Since the early thirteenth century, at least."

"Wow. Ghastly's mom predicted me, just a dark figure killing cities."

"Yes, she was one. None of this really has anything to do with why I came here though. I'm not here to report to you all the people that have caught inadequate glimpses of you. I'm here to warn you of something really important."

"Warn me?"

"Mevolent is really serious about that peace treaty with the Sanctuary, and he's given up the Faceless Ones."

"And you know this…?"

Dusk frowned at her. "Rumors. Tales. Obvious intentions, and a couple weeks ago, I followed him everywhere he went, without him knowing, obviously."

"Ah. That's… I'm not going to lie to you, that's a little…"

"Dedicated?"

"Weird."

He glowered and ignored her comment. "More than that, he plans to use the Irish Sanctuary as a basis to take command of all the sorcerers, Sanctuary officials or not, and eventually, he wants to take the other Sanctuaries, too. Then, eventually, bring the sorcerers out into the open and… oh, I don't know, change things."

Valkyrie nodded slowly. "That's a big goal."

"Yes, well, that's the way he works. Once, he planned to kill this world and bring back his nefarious gods. Now, he just wants to reshape sorcerers and mortals into a way he likes it. Oh, and he wants power too."

"So…?"

"So the first thing he needs to do is getting a peace treaty. At the moment, the other Sanctuaries either think that he should get a second chance, were bribed to agree, or think that he'll be the one to bring the destruction of the Irish Sanctuary, and they can pick up the remains."

"Yikes."

"The Grand Mages here will resist until Mevolent puts something else on the table."

"What is it? What could he possibly…?"

"His resources." He looked at her right in the eyes and she met his cold gaze immediately with a hard one of her own. "To catch Darquesse."

A shill ran down her spin.

"Then, when they agree- and believe me, they will- he'll be appointed the fourth Grand Mage, and they will find you."

He stood suddenly, and put her phone down on the table.

"And you? What are your reasons for telling me?"

Dusk looked down at her. "Before he was defeated- right before he was defeated- Mevolent did me harm. Serpine and Baron were good men, men I owed favors too, and that old man offered me revenge on some people I didn't like. No offense." He paused and Valkyrie's phone buzzed with a call. She stiffened but didn't move, waiting for him to finish and leave. "I still don't like Mevolent, and I wanted to give you some preparation time so that you don't make it _too _easy for him."

"I suppose I should thank you."

"Oh?" He looked amused that she would.

"But you telling me all this only makes up for you spying on me in the shower, so it's probably not necessary."

He scowled at her. "Many dark days to you, Miss Cain."

"And to you, Dusk."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ah, finally the next chapter. Thanks for all the support, guys, and reviews help me keep on track with my writing so give me suggestions or nag me, I don't care, don't stop contacting me. **

After Dusk left, speeding out of her home unnervingly fast, Valkyrie allowed herself a moment to sit down and think. She rubbed her hands over her temple, and closed her eyes. Mevolent and the Sanctuary teaming up to kill her had a certain poetic irony to it that made her throat clench and a wiry smile slink over her lips at the same time.

Upstairs, she heard a crash and flinched. She stood quickly, and held her hands at the ready for a fireball, in case it was another unwelcome guest. A skeleton burst out of her bedroom and she relaxed.

"Valkyrie, why the hell-?"

"He just left. I'm not hurt." She said, and Skulduggery noticeably relaxed. He nodded and came casually down the stairs. He looked at her.

"I see."

"Yep."

"And?"

"Well," She said, prepared to unload on him a bombshell of information, "he knows I'm Darquesse, and he came here to warn me about Mevolent, who Dusk doesn't like, and is planning on forming a truce with the Sanctuary in the common interests of getting rid of me."

He looked at her very carefully. "I know."

She startled. "Know what?"

"Well- and don't worry, I only just have come to this conclusion- the most basic form of military tactics, which Mevolent is a genius at, is forming teams and truces with common enemies. Fear brings people together. The threat of Darquesse has inflicted quite a bit of fear on the magical community: they'll be desperate for anyone's help."

"Right. Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize. It's not your fault, truthfully, I'd rather blame it on the psychics who are throwing everyone into panic mode."

"Nah. They're just passing on the word." She said reasonably and frowned. "Do you know how long it will take for us to adopt Mevolent into the system?"

"Pardon?"

"That's what Dusk said. That Mevolent was aiming for a seat on the council, and that politically, it'd be impossible not to give it to him." Valkyrie said and Skulduggery went quiet. Then he chuckled.

"Mevolent's going to wear robs. Heh. I think I'm going to enjoy mocking him."

She frowned at his laid-back demeanor. "So you're not worried?"

"Oh, Valkyrie. I'm terrified. However, you said that Dusk said that Mevolent was going to go clean, and I'm not really the right person to judge if a mass-murder wants to change his ways, you know?"

"I… I suppose…" She shook her head and moved into the kitchen, and set the coffee machine on go. She pressed a hand to her head, which was aching and realized suddenly something she hadn't before. It probably wasn't hurting because she was overwhelmed, she was hung-over. She sighed and wished the coffee would hurry up. She popped a pain-relieving leaf into her mouth and squinted. "Anyway, I don't like that Mevolent and his gang and the Sanctuary are going to be hunting me down. Isn't it likely that sooner rather than later they'll find me? What do I do then?"

"It isn't as likely as you think that they'll find you." He said calmly, watching her closely. "They don't have much to go on, remember. They could always resort to using adepts specially trained for tracking, but even that has its limits. Mostly, Mevolent's resources will be good for keeping the other Sanctuaries at bay. The criminals among his men- almost all of them- will likely be kept under watch, but granted amnesty. Are you… are you feeling alright, Valkyrie?" He asked and she scowled. His voice, usually a source of relaxation and comfort to her now seemed too loud. She wished he'd lower his velvety annoying voice.

"Fine." She said curtly, and took a sip of her coffee and thought about it. "I thought Mevolent was defeated."

"He was. I wasn't there when he fell, but he did. Now, obviously, he's back."

"Will we- will I meet him?"

"Undoubtedly."

"He's older than five hundred years, right? He's got to be a geezer. How come he hasn't retired yet?"

"It's complicated, Valkyrie. But you'd be wrong in saying he's a geezer. Some curse, some magical thingy-"

"That's descriptive."

"-Was put on him when he was about, oh, I don't know, twenty-nine or thirty? He hasn't physically aged a day since. Lucky bastard."

"Huh. Interesting."

"Anyway," He said, and adjusted his hat. "We do have things to do today."

"Like…? I thought everyone was supposed to be looking for Mevolent. Now that we know that's kind of pointless…"

"No, it's a different thing. I was planning on getting around to it after we found Mevolent, but like you said: it's pointless. So let's go. We still have things to do today. Oh, and about Dusk…"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we should track him down? Put him in prison for good? Make sure he doesn't hurt your family?" He asks and Valkyrie ponders the question.

"It might make me feel better, but that might have negative effects. If we take him to jail, someone's going to talk to him and he could throw out a hint, or tell them that he knows who Darquesse is, or tell them out right, and I don't want that to happen. I want him in jail, it just can't be by our hands."

"You're getting very wise about this sort of thing, you know that?"

"I do." She said. "Where are we going?"

"To see Scapegrace."

"Oh, you know where he is? Why are we going to see him, anyways, isn't he kind of…"

"Just a head?"

"Useless?"

"Well, yes. I think, however, that he's stumbled upon something useful though."

"Oh?"

"Oh, yes. Vaurien Scapegrace has found the secret to a lost art, Valkyrie, a very small lost art. I think, however, especially in front of recent advents, we're going to be in need of it soon. Very much so."

"Ooooh, someone's being all mysterious and stuff."

"Stop ruining it for me."

"You ruin it for yourself." Valkyrie said with a cute pout and although she couldn't see it, Skulduggery's eyes softened. Yes, he certainly did.

**Well, there's a juicy bit of Valduggery for you. Don't worry, the next chapter will be much more… exciting… :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for following through to the sixth chapter. I'll have a few more comments at the bottom of the page. This chapter and some of the other ones that have come before it and will come later kind of go off the plot line, to other forbidden lands. Still, as promised, Valkyrie will be pregnant and I'll give you all sorts of Valduggery and Mevalkyrie (Oh my gosh, yes. There's a new pairing for you). I hope to create new pairings with each chapter that goes by. Hope you like it. **

Valkyrie understood awkward moments. She had never fully experienced one that was caused by her, but she got the main gist of it. There weren't many awkward moments when she was with Skulduggery because Skulduggery always had some amusing story to tell, some purpose and frankly, she was so used to his presence after about five or six years by his side that there wasn't much that there was that could make Valkyrie Cain feel uncomfortable. She hardly ever blushed, either.

Walking in to Scapegrace's current place of residence, she found not only something to feel awkward and frightened about- but she was pretty sure that her cheeks burned bright enough to look like a jolly Santa Claus.

The things they heard walking into the bar that Scapegrace and Thrasher were staying at weren't things that could be merely brushed off by a mere joke or serious conversation. It wasn't helped by the fact that the shock of it all froze Valkyrie and Skulduggery to the spot, making them incapable of moving.

"Uhnnn…" They heard someone groan, just beyond the door. They'd tensed up, waiting for cries of pain, and Skulduggery prepared himself to knock down the door.

"Please…" They heard someone's shuddering voice from beyond the door. Valkyrie and Skulduggery frowned. They heard a long, drawn out moan. "Please, move it, Master!" They heard someone scream from beyond the door. It didn't particularly sound like screams of pain: which Valkyrie was familiar with. It sounded like how she had screamed last night when the man'd…

Valkyrie frowned. No. No, surely they couldn't.

"Hold _s… still! Just… just…. Hold… Ahhhhhh!" _ They heard Scapegrace yell. There was a moan beyond the door. There were a lot of moans. Valkyrie noticed that she and Skulduggery were standing very close listening to this and she started to squirm, wanting to move away, but… it was like a train crash.

She couldn't look away.

Then there was more yelling and Valkyrie's face went as red as blood, which was probably all that occupied her face.

"Um…" Skulduggery muttered, and she realized that he probably wasn't feeling any more comfortable than she was. In fact, though Valkyrie didn't know it, standing so close to Valkyrie and listening to the apparent sounds of… whatever… was making Skulduggery all sorts of hot under the collar. Which was uncomfortable in a bit different way than Valkyrie was feeling.

"Maybe… maybe we should come back another time?" Valkyrie asked timidly. She kept her voice low, prepared to sneak out.

Skulduggery looked at her, and resisted the urge to slink his arm around her waist. It was an inappropriate urge, so he kept his actions to his fantasies.

"Nonsense." He said smoothly. "Why wait?" He asked without a hitch in his voice. Valkyrie stared at him, horrified. "This time of thing has been known to happen occasionally with the art of Truth. Love is confessed and it leads to…" Valkyrie was glad Skulduggery and her were on the same page, and that he understood that what they were listening to was... was… _you-know…_ but…

She blinked. "Art of Truth?"

"Ah, yes. That's the surprise. It's fairly basic, but makes for a rising of all types of mischief and scandalous words and fun. You and me, with our little dark sides and secrets, will have to stay out of the way of the Art of Truth, but Erskine asked me to track it down in my spare time, so that's what I did this morning while you were away."

"When the vampire as at my house."

"Yes."

She shook her head, focusing. She prepared to lead another argument as to why they should definitely come back at another time, but inside the door she heard a large clatter that drew her attention.

The sound of furniture tipping and men moaning made her stiffen and want to back away. Although she hardly noticed it, so comforting and familiar Skulduggery's touch was, he gently put his hand at the small of her back and held her in place. She heart beat calmed almost immediately at his touch and she found blood circulating again.

Then Skulduggery was pushing her_ into_ the room and the panic started right back up again.

"_No!_ No, Skulduggery we are not-!"

Skulduggery knocked loudly on the door. "Pardon me!" He yelled.

There was silence inside the apartment. The sound of people moving could be heard and Valkyrie stood silently, dreading it all.

Vaurien Scapegrace opens the door. He is fully clothed and he blinks at them.

Behind him, Thrasher was attempting to move a couch by himself.

**XD .Why? What'd you think was going to on? - Bryn'ryou'ishtar**

Valkyrie and Skulduggery sat on Scapegrace's couch and drank tea. Skulduggery was musing over the peculiarity of Scapegrace's new body, while Valkyrie was trying to forget everything she'd just been thinking.

Scapegrace was certainly a distraction from that. He still had the same old head, with the same old burnt flesh and stupid expressions, but he'd found himself the plastic model body of muscleman and had put his head onto of where the plastic muscleman's head was supposed to be. Somehow, the zombie magic controlled the thing the head was attached to, which was something she and Skulduggery hadn't known before.

After the initial shock had left them both, they got down to business, both of them affectively pretending that they both had _totally_ knew that Scapegrace and Thrasher were moving couches around. Then Skulduggery had punched Scapegrace once, really fast, and Thrasher and Scapegrace agreed right away to go fetch the equipment that housed the Art of Truth.

Valkyrie took a sip of her tea, which tasted a bit bland, but she hadn't expected it to taste good in the first place, because Thrasher had made it.

"So…" She said, settling into the normal conversions she and Skulduggery had, "How does the Art of Truth do?"

"Brings out the desire to tell the truth, is all. It's kind of hard to use, because there are omissions and half-lies and opinions that you can still use under the Art of Truth. Still, people say funny, funny stuff when they got the Art of Truth in their system. You'd be surprised how many woman, under the Art, have confessed their undying love to me." He said, and Valkyrie snorted. "And a few men," he admitted and Valkyrie laughed.

"We're going to use this one Mevolent?"

"Maybe. I think Erskine just wants to have it on hand, you know. It can be exceedingly useful, but no one's really had the time or skill to look for it as of late, so the investigation had kind of stopped. I cracked the case just last night, actually."

"Impressive."

"I thought you might think so."

Scapegrace slid into the room cautiously, his hands held out in front of him like some lame type of material arts master. Valkyrie snorted. Like that would help him. If they wanted to punch him, they'd punch him.

He straightened before them and sneered. "You're lucky I don't punish you for your treatment towards me." He said and Valkyrie looked at him very slowly.

"Excuse me?" She asked and Scapegrace swallowed.

"I-I-It's… nothing." He said quietly. Then he straightened suddenly when Thrasher walked through the door, holding a small, crystal ball in his hands. He held the ball as far as he could from his body, his arms straight and his face screwed up in concentration. He looked quite silly but Scapegrace had to clear his throat a couple of times around the crystal ball before continuing.

"Out of the goodness of my heart," He began before Valkyrie silenced him with a glare. He started back up again, talking quickly. "I hereby lend to you my fortune and power, for the moment. Bring it back at your earliest convenience, please." He said and proceeded to look at his shoes and prepared for a punch. Valkyrie turned sideways and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Alright," she said. "Whatever." Her head hurt like crazy and she felt nauseous. "Skulduggery, let's go." She used a napkin and picked up the crystal ball. She dropped it into a bag they'd taken along.

"Behind you, your highness." He said with a grand sweep of his hand. Satisfied that he was treating her, as he should, she swept out of the room with the glamour of a queen.

Skulduggery hides a smile and followed his friend out.

Away from Skulduggery and Valkyrie, Mevolent stood on the streets of Roarhaven, watching the new Sanctuary. People scurry around in there, looking for him. It's unnecessary. After tonight, if all goes well, which, if Mevolent's strategic genius is correct, it will, and then tonight is a night to remember. It's the day the Truce is made. A different type of Truce, one that Serpine hadn't been able to pull off. Then he'd work towards catching this Darquesse person.

This Truce would be a genuine one of cooperation and community. Serpine, for all of his good-points and genius, was not a sincere enough man or a peace-loving one to make sure that the peace was total. This time, Mevolent wanted to do it right. The war would be ended, if they liked it or not.

He missed Serpine. And Baron. He truly did. They were good men. Of the two, he'd trusted Serpine the best. Serpine was, while he was alive, practically a heathen. He'd wanted to bring the Faceless Ones back for his own sadistic gain, and because it was what Mevolent wanted. Before Nefarion was his general, he'd been his student, and Serpine had always been a loyal follower. Even before Mevolent had gotten mixed up with the Faceless Ones.

Not that it mattered anymore. They were both gone.

Mevolent turned his cell phone on. He dialed a number, received an answering machine, as he'd expected and introduced himself, before asking Erskine- the grand mage- for a meeting.

It would only be a matter of weeks before the Truce was made. He was pretty sure that Bespoke and Erskine would move it along faster than Meritorious would have.

Mevolent smiled.

Back to Valkyrie, two weeks later; she stood in her bathroom, she had the day off because Skulduggery was giving Erskine and Ghastly consulting advice and after already a day of listening to it, she'd been tired and opted to stay home. Her parents were gone too and she stood alone in her house looking down at a little strip of technology in her hand. Cursed technology. Evil technology. On the little strip of cursed, evil technology there was a little pink positive sign.

Then Valkyrie had a small nervous breakdown that afternoon, where she did nothing but drink tea and stare outside into the gloomy rain.

She didn't even know the bloody name of the child's father: _her_ child's father. Not that it mattered much. She'd never let some random punk touch her any baby of her's. She touched her stomach and her eyes water. Already, she feels protective of the little devil.

She smiled a bit. She didn't so much mind the thought of being a mom. She was sure that Nye probably had _some _anti-stretch line medicine. Her parents wouldn't be happy at first, but they'd get over it.

As for Skulduggery…

She had to admit: she was curious to see how he would react. She was pregnant. She had more trust in him since the whole Darquesse thing had come out, and he himself had once been a father. She hoped- just a little bit secretly- that he'd help her just a little bit raise the child. It wasn't his responsibility, but it might be fun.

And until the time came when she would start getting a baby-bump, which wouldn't be for a few more months, she had plenty of fights left to get into and boyfriends to make. Pregnant didn't make her a cripple, after all. She was pretty sure she could handle a bit of stress, even if it was recommended for pregnant ladies. It'd be okay, as long as she didn't drink anymore.

She was pretty sure there was nothing she couldn't handle.

**Hehe. I've got so many devious plans ready and waiting with this Art of Truth thing and Mevolent coming to the Sanctuary and… oh… so… MANY… PLANS! Stick around.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Seventh chapter! This is the most amount of chapters I've ever written in a fanfic. Yay! Also, I'd just like to apologize for the huge amount of errors in my past writing. I just post it immediately after writing it, and don't edit. Sorry! I'll work on it.**

Dusk stood at the top of a cliff, the already darkened sunlight casting a golden glow on his pale skin and his dark eyes reflected the sun. His hair shined like silk and his muscular jaw clenched. He turned to a tall man with the long white hair and a physique almost as good as his own. His whole body clenched. He hated him, but the arrangement that they'd work out would benefit them both.

Mevolent stood silently, watching Dusk, all alone with him on the edge of the cliff, with long, smooth grass and the sun setting behind them, and despite it was almost night, and Dusk was strong, with an army of infected and loyal vampires behind him, Dusk knew he couldn't beat the elemental. Not in war, not one-on-one. He was that strong, and Dusk knew enough to be very careful of what he said.

"I'll do it." He said quietly to Mevolent. Mevolent smiled, pleased.

"Excellent. I knew I could count on you. The treaty's almost finished being made up, the negotiation and meetings have also ended. The Elders have my power behind them and I have access to all their resources, as well, along with the Sanctuary. I'll talk them into not killing you and your kind, but I suggest you take a vacation somewhere far away for a few weeks."

"And I come back and make sure that all things run smoothly? I'm surprised that you want to have your fiancée assassinated."

"It doesn't matter to you, does it? No one can know, of course."

"I know. I'll accomplish it, without raising any suspicions. If you could tell me why you want her dead?" Dusk asked and Mevolent turned and began walking away, back towards where the cars were. Dusk hesitated, but followed anyway. Mevolent surprised Dusk by continuing talking.

"She's outworn her use to me. Her father is already dead, I have all the money I need, and she's too weak to survive as my wife. I need someone tougher, that I can trust."

"And your fiancée- Miss Ray- she's not that person?"

"No. I need her dead, she's slowing me down."

"I'll have it done."

"You better. And avoid the Art of Truth, I don't want anyone to know about this."

"Oh yes," Dusk said and felt his heart- long dead- give a fake leap with his stolen blood as his newest obsession was partially brought into the conversation. "I heard Valkyrie and Skulduggery found it."

"Valkyrie?"

"Valkyrie Cain. Skulduggery Pleasant's partner, of about five years now."

"Hmm. That sounds excellent. You can take it."

"Pardon?"

"Take it. Don't steal it; convince one of them to give it to you. I don't want and you don't want to stir up trouble with the Sanctuary agents, right? But I'm telling you to bring it to me."

Dusk stared at him, and his eyes went cold. "And… how do you suggest I get it?"

"Valkyrie's a girl. Women are weak to certain… charms. I'm telling you to seduce her and get her steal the Art of Truth."

"Not good." Dusk murmured, so softly he was sure Mevolent wouldn't hear it.

Mevolent turned to him sharply and Dusk froze. "Not good? Is she ugly?

Dusk meet his eyes levelly. "No." He admitted, "She's not too ugly. She is, however, very loyal to the Sanctuary…"

Mevolent nodded. "I see. That's good. I want people like her working underneath me in the Sanctuary."

"Not her, sir."

"Pardon?"  
>"She's not the type of person you want to try and control, is all." He said and Mevolent laughed.<p>

"Sounds like quite a character."

"Indeed."

"Hopefully I'll run into her, at the Sanctuary. Our exchange, Dusk, is done. You do your job and I'll keep you safe."

"Yes, sir."

"Goodbye for now, Dusk," Mevolent said and went to his car. Dusk disappeared and Mevolent climbed in the back. A loyal servant of Mevolent's drove the car, but Mevolent always made sure to watch where they were going, and never told the driver where they were going before they left. It was those little things that kept him safe. In the backseat sat a blond girl. She was pretty and as delicate on the outside as she was on the inside. She peered at him with large green eyes and simpered.

Yes, he'd taken his stupid fiancée with him to plan her death.

"Is the business done?" Miss Ray said breathily. "Can we go home now?"

"Of course, my dear." She was his fiancée, the daughter of a rich investor. She wasn't of much use, except in bed, which was pleasing mundane. He didn't find himself losing control often when he was in bed with her. She was pretty enough, sure, but she wasn't his type. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Her vanilla perfume, something he'd bought her when he couldn't stand not smelling vanilla when he woke up after… that girl… it drifted over to him. In his mind, he saw instead of her, the dark haired girl, sitting and waiting for him in his backseat, pouting a bit and annoyed. He smiled genuinely at her and with lust, deepened their kiss and dragged his hand through her delicate thin sunshine colored hair. He tugged on her hair and growled slightly, more gentle with his fiancée than he'd ever been with the dark haired girl. Still Miss Ray, whimpered slightly, and when it became apparent that he was being too intense with her, he pulled back.

"Don't trust that vampire." He commanded her and she nodded passively, agreeing. He felt a pain in his chest. He wanted her to argue back, or to smile and tell him to stuff it, that she could handle herself. Miss Ray didn't.

Mevolent knew he couldn't afford to be disappointed by that.

Valkyrie stared at the small round ball in her hand. Skulduggery and she stood in the Sanctuary, waiting for Erskine and Ghastly to come out and take the Art of Truth away. With this in her hands, she could only ever tell the truth. It was scary, but strangely thrilling.

"What are you thinking about?" Skulduggery asked.

"Well. You know. Things." She murmured, and clutched it tighter.

"Want to tell me what? You've been upset lately. I can tell." Teasingly, because it'd been years since he'd caught on, "Is it that time of the month?"

"That's exactly it. It won't be 'that time of the month' for me for a long time now." She said honestly, because it was maybe easier to tell him this way.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me."

"I must not have. Are you sick?"

"Don't be stupid, if it was that, I'd have Nye fix me up."

"I see. So the problem is…?" He said and she wrapped her hands around the orb once again.

"I'm sorry," She said honestly. "Not about what happened, but that I'm going to need to take a few months off."

"I don't understand."

"Sure you do. I think I've made it pretty clear." She said and he was quiet.

"No, Valkyrie," He said, "I don't understand."

"I have the Art of Truth in my hands. I'm not lying."

"Not lying about what?"

"What?"

"You haven't said anything. I asked you what you were thinking about and you haven't told me yet." He said innocently and she looked at him very carefully and wondered if she was going insane. She tried again.

"Skulduggery. I'm pregnant."

"No, you're not." He said, "In fact, I didn't even hear what you just said."

"Skulduggery…"

"Valkyrie. If you say what I think you're about to say, which of course you're not, because I just hallucinated that you said that, I want you to shut up."

"Listen to me-"

"You can't make me," He said endearingly and held his hands over where his ears once were. "Tell me again tomorrow, and I might be sane enough to listen to you."

Valkyrie sighed.

"But," He said a little reluctantly, "if I'm not hallucinating, and this is really happening, I'd just like to let you know that if you don't name it Skulduggery, I'll never forgive you."

** Hehe. It's happening. The chapter is near! The shocking and exciting reunion. Oh, and a lot of sweet Valduggery moments coming near.**


	8. Chapter 8

** Welcome to the… VIII chapter! … Or IIX, whichever it is. **

Valkyrie and Skulduggery strode through the hallways of the Sanctuary, and people scurried to get out of the way. Anxiety and nerves rippled through the crowd, and they were all desperate to move somewhere. Valkyrie noticed them clutching their weapons tightly, running through the walls with scans and technology that she hadn't known they'd had, looking for danger and explosives. Valkyrie frowned and pursued her lips.

"Everyone's really going nuts, eh?"

"Indeed. It's a big deal, you know. This time, the truce might hold. Mevolent's got different intentions than Serpine."

"Maybe. He's still a psycho, though, right?" She asked, leaning over and talking quieter, so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Undoubtedly. Not that either of us can judge, really. You're looking nice today, by the way."

"Hmm? I didn't do anything different. Except today I'm pregnant."

"Ah, yes. You'll make a wonderful pregnant woman."

"Skulduggery, that's not… really… a compliment."

"Nonsense. That's what I told my wife; the first day I met her. Of course, she wasn't pregnant at the time, and got _so_ mad…" He mused.

"Uh… right." Valkyrie said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, smiling. She almost never got to hear anything about his late wife; it was something that piqued her interest.

She laughed, her voice floating through the halls, "You know, you really have to…" she began, and they turned a corner and she hit someone.

She stumbled backward, sighing, annoyed that her train of thought was interrupted. "Sorry," She said, and began to move to the side.

Ghastly, Erskine and Madame Mist looked at her. Madame Mist looked irritated by her, but she always was, but Ghastly and Erskine looked happy to see her and Skulduggery.

"Skulduggery," Erskine said, clasping him on the shoulder and stepping forward. "And Valkyrie! Excellent! Excellent!"

"Erskine, who…?"

"Mevolent," Skulduggery said, gesturing towards the familiar looking man with the long white hair. "That's Mevolent." He said, his voice was cold, with a forced professionalism in it.

She stared at him for a moment.

"Wow." She said. "_You_ look familiar."

"I was about to say the same thing, you know." He said, his voice deep and hypnotic. It was familiar, too."

Erskine looked at the two of them. "You two know each other?"

She didn't respond, just looked at him, and studied his face and body. She'd seen him… somewhere. She wasn't to blame for forgetting him, though. She'd been incredibly drunk that night, and he'd just been a body. A rebound. She could remember his musty cologne, and the length of his arms wrapped around her body, and the way his lips had touched her neck, but she didn't remember his face. His name had never even been supplied to her.

"Nah, probably not. I'm thinking of someone else," She guessed, shrugging. "Nice to meet you, Mevolent. My name's Valkyrie Cain."

"Same. It's a pleasure seeing you again, too, Detective Pleasant. I assume you're here to _work_," Mevolent said testily.

"Not really," Skulduggery said honestly. "How did things go?" He asked them.

"The treaty is in place, which is good news for you," Ghastly filled them in, "because in a few days we're going to have twice as many agents in here, doing the dirty work."

"Boring." He said, "Make people do our paperwork, OK? We'll do the fun stuff."

"Just like I remember you," Mevolent said lightly and Valkyrie noticed Skulduggery tense up, something so microscopic that no one else could ever notice it, but she'd been his partner for years. She twined around him, staying close to him to him and watched Mevolent, that familiar man, from the corner of her eye.

"Nice meeting you," Valkyrie said again a little bit more coldly, and turned her back on him, because what mood Skulduggery was in mattered way more. Skulduggery didn't pause and followed after her.

"Welcome to the Sanctuary," He called over his shoulder, almost mockingly, and Valkyrie laughed darkly.

Mevolent felt a part of his blood run cold. Skulduggery was frighteningly unpredictable, and Mevolent found that he didn't like his new partner either. She was familiar, even if he couldn't place where he'd seen her before.

The treaty had gone well, but there was an air of distrust around the whole thing. Suddenly, he had a reason to keep Miss Ray. If he had a family, a child… he was sure they'd trust him more. Better still if he made a family with someone that Bespoke and Ravel liked, too: like a sanctuary agent. He looked around for a female that would be weak-willed.

Not that Valkyrie girl, definitely, but someone he could control, that would endear him to the Council. Miss Ray would die, and he'd find someone else.

Damn if Valkyrie Cain wasn't familiar. He'd seen her somewhere, he was sure, he thought, walking up and away from the Sanctuary, away from the new, curious crowd of his subordinates.

She was pretty, that was for sure. That silky dark hair, and keen eyes and great figure, was so familiar. He smiled and got in his car, thinking about what she'd look like without her clothes on. Probably wore black stuff under his clothes, too. Probably would stare at him with those dark, dark eyes and give him that dark, dark laugh and lick him before she kissed him. He'd like to see her vulnerable though, see her shiver and squirm underneath him.

He froze.

My god, he thought.

It couldn't be.

His mind raced, trying to summon up every detail he could remember from_ that night. _Yes, the hair and eyes and face matched. The dark clothes and the dark dress, yes. He swallowed.

He'd found her, the girl.

He laughed, and then remembered that Miss Ray was supposed to be in the seat next to him. He looked over. Frowned.

She was gone.

A terrified Miss Ray cowered in the Sanctuary parking lot; a terrifying dark haired girl towered above her. Valkyrie Cain was furious, and wet, and about ready to start a catfight.

"Did you just," The girl separated out her words icy bit-by-bit, "_throw a laser beam at me?"_

Miss Ray sucked up all her courage and bravery and nodded. "Yeah, and you deserved it. Whore! I know you're pregnant," She said, and straightening her back, sneered at Valkyrie. Valkyrie looked at her.

"And why do you think…?"

"I have contacts," Miss Ray said, "Seers. Congratulations, but you can't have him."

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about. You can't steal him."

"I actually don't know who you're talking about."

Miss Ray had known that Valkyrie was pregnant with Mevolent's child before Valkyrie did, and the knowledge made her feel powerful.

Then Valkyrie slammed her fist into the side of Miss Ray's face and Miss Ray dropped like a bag of rocks.

Miss Ray had to stop them from knowing. Mevolent needed her by his side, needed her compassion and kindness on his path to recovery, or so she thought. And he was hers. Always would be.

Miss Ray looked up and fired another pink laser from her hand. Valkyrie scowled and ducked under the ridiculous pink laser beam, not knowing what her adept power was, and not really caring.

"You are ridiculous," She muttered and summoned shadows around her fist. Skulduggery had gone to get the Bentley, and then Ray had come over and started a fight. It was no big deal, nothing she couldn't handle.

With a cat-like screech, Ray, in all her seemingly fragile beauty and vulnerable air, flew at Valkyrie and tackled her.

"Die!" Miss Ray yelled, and the two went down together, twining around each other and pulling hair and-

"Miss Ray? Love, where did you go?" Miss Ray heard her fiancée yell and she stood quickly, ignoring Valkyrie so suddenly that Valkyrie was left on the ground for a moment, a bit stunned. Around the corner of the parking lot, she heard

"O-Over here!" Miss Ray called out, "I got a bit lost," She said, giggling. "Sorry, Mevolent, I know you needed me in the car."

He frowned at her, not seeing Valkyrie, who'd stood up, and watched them with a dark look on her face. Jealousy? Spite? Fury?

That day, a grudge was born between the two girls, formed by a catfight, one that only one of them could come out on top of.

Valkyrie didn't like catfights, didn't like Miss Ray for making her get into one. But there was plenty of time to act for revenge. After she had her baby, of course, but that would be OK. Maybe she'd even name the baby- which she was pretty sure was going to be a boy- Skulduggery.

She had plenty of time, now that there was a truce. They'd be seeing a lot of each other, and damn if Valkyrie wasn't going to make Miss Ray's life a living hell.

**How's that? Hope you liked it. Dusk is coming later, don't you worry… **


	9. Chapter 9

**Ugh. I feel a bit guilty this chapter. See, the last chapter, in my opinion, and I wrote it, sucked. Just a bit. It sucked. I would go back and rewrite the whole thing, I swear I would, but it's already been posted, so it's a bit too late. Lastly, it has, in my opinion, been too long since I've posted here. However, I plan to make this chapter as good as I can. I promise.**

Valkyrie touched the sharp weapon next to her bed. It resembled a painter's brush, but the top came to such a point that she hesitated to move her finger up to trace the side of it. She wondered if Clarabelle, who was worryingly absent-today being Monday- remembered to sharpen them. Or if Nye just stayed at the medical section of the hospital all day, playing with it's medical toys. She leaned away from the sharp weapon, not reassured by its small presence. She was here for Nye's medical assessment of her pregnancy, something Skulduggery had adamantly insisted upon. He assured her that when she got around to telling her parents, they'd send her to a doctor, too. He was more inclined to send her to a psychologist to get her head examined for being stupid enough to get pregnant, but he told her that he'd ask Nye to fit in a head examination as well as a pregnancy physical.

She clutched the thin white sheets on the bed. She glanced around. It wasn't a room she spent much time in; it was a private one that Skulduggery had requested because he didn't want Erskine or Ghastly to find out about it yet. Valkyrie didn't want them to find out either, but she wanted her baby to have the best medicine available to it. She didn't think she wanted Nye and Clarabelle to deliver it, the thought made her want to gag. The only thing she trusted Clarabelle to do with a baby was drop it, so she'd trust the doctor her mother picked out for that. She was here because she wanted advice.

Nye poked its head in the door. It scowled under its medical mask, and then made a great effort of sighing. She bristled at the condescension in its every movement. "Valentine Cain?" It said, looking at its paper like it'd never seen her before.

She looked at it, blinked. "I'm sorry?" It'd gotten her name wrong. She saw it every other day. She didn't know what that was all about.

"Valkyrie Harlot, correct, I presume? You came to see me about your bastard pregnancy?" It said, sounding gleeful to gossip. It dropped down into its small, swivel chair with a lot of effort.

"Nye…" She said slowly and gestured to her own face, her face blank. It raised its own hand to its face in confusion. "I think you've got a little condescension on your face."

That only made it smile brighter, with a little cruelty in its face. Valkyrie stared back with something quiet and wickedly playful in her eyes. Darquesse hadn't liked the bastard child comment.

"Oh, Valentine…"

"Don't call me that."

"Why? Can only _he_ call you that? Quite catchy, Valentine: so close to your taken name, too. Is that part of why you chose it?"

"Nye isn't a man's name or a woman's name. Is that the only reason you chose it?" She leaned in, narrowing her eyes like a psychiatrist. "Is that the only thing that defines you? It is to everyone else, believe me."

"I'm not sure if you're hoping to goad me, Valentine…"

"I'm not trying to goad you, Doctor. I'd never want to hurt someone like you. You're a_ healer_, after all, totally innocent. I'd never hurt the innocent, Doctor," she said pleasantly. "I'm just trying to help. You're lonely, aren't you?"

It sat back, startled. "Pardon?"

"Just because you don't have a sex doesn't mean that you don't have hormones, am I right? I'm curious. Which way do you lean? Man? Woman? Both? You're a Doctor. Maybe that's a bit too ordinary for you. Remember, Doctor, I'm just trying to help you. Maybe you like outfits." She wagged her finger at it, on a roll. "Don't try it hide it. You're not the hygienic type. Why then, I wondered to myself about my dear friend Nye who I want to help, are you making Clarabelle, your young assistant, wear a nurses outfit? One with a particularly short skirt."

Nye looked at her, and she saw it start to tremble.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Doctor. We all have our kinks in bed. You like nurse's outfits. I like biting. It's nothing either of us are ashamed of, Nye. And it never should be." She said and Nye slowly fell to the floor, shakes rattling it and its mouth wide as it sucked in breath with wrinkly mouth. Laughter, loud and crazy rolled out of it like blues music and Valkyrie giggled.

"You are too much, Valentine." It said at last, gathering itself enough to wipe a few tears from its dirty eyes. "I never thought someone would be so bold to actually call me on that."

"Part of my charm."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that." It looked at her, sitting comfortably. "Now that you've taken the opportunity to bring up sexual preferences, I've got to ask. Who did it?"

"Knocked me up, you mean?"

"Yes. And how?" It sat with its hands on its knuckles, and grinned at her, lecherously. "If you don't mind me asking."

She shrugged. "I don't know who," She said simply, "I remember vividly how, though. Violently."

It laughed then, indulging in cruelty. "Poor little lamb. Did a big meanie rape you?"

She winked at it, "Nope."

That made it choke a little, which made her laugh. It cleared its throat. "I don't have all day then," it barked, "get down to business."

"Of course, Doctor."

They spent the next thirty minutes or so serious, discussing. Babies weren't Nye's expertise, but it did mention that it'd spent some time… dealing with them. She remembered it'd tortured prisoners of war, she wondered if it'd gotten its experience because they'd tortured the woman with their babies inside of them and the thought made her feel ill.

It ran its hand gently, not quite touching over her stomach and gently pulled away. Valkyrie felt something of a microscopic kick. Her eyes widened. "What was that?"

"I just gave your baby a bit of energy. Stir its brain activity. It's normally only safe to do it at one point during the pregnancy, at the exact month you're at now. That'll give Junior a little bit more protection inside your womb."

"Ah," She said cautiously, not sure if she believed it. She didn't trust it.

The door rattled and Valkyrie and Nye startled. It went the door, and Valkyrie pulled her shirt down over her smooth stomach. Skulduggery stood there, waiting patiently, his hat in his hands.

"How was it? Did you give the baby the push?" He asked, and Nye nodded. Valkyrie tilted her head in surprise. She scowled.

"It's not fair," She said, "that you get to know more about babies than I do, Skulduggery." She said without thinking and before she could realize her own mistake, Skulduggery's hand had shot out and grabbed hers. He pulled her close to him, and wrapped his arms around her in a hug that was too brief, too tight and too short. It made her loose her breath.

"Don't worry," He murmured in her ear, before setting her free. "I'll teach you everything I know, always."

She looked at him, her eyes wide, didn't know quite what to say. He was already turning away. She turned her head so that neither he nor Nye could see the small, soft, longing smile that transformed her face.

"Nye. I need to take Valkyrie. You're done with her?"

"I am."

"Good," He turned to her, and Valkyrie looked back calmly, shoving the memory far back into her head. She'd keep it for whenever she was feeling hurt or alone. "Valkyrie, we've got a tip."

"Oh?"

"Someone's going to be attacked tonight, and I need you along."

She nodded, serious. "Who is it?" She asked and he paused.

"Well…"

"Skulduggery?"

"It's… It's Miss Ray."

"Let her die," She voted instantly, not needing a second thought. "Why does she need our help? She has everyone working for Mevolent."

"Mevolent's men are our men."

"Can't we send someone else?"

"That's the thing." Skulduggery said, placing his hat back on. "If we put anyone else on, you'll be taken into custody, because you got into a fight, just in case you aren't the one threatening her." She stared at him hard and her stomach dropped.

"Oh."

"Put if we do it…"

"Oh. Right. Right." She said stupidly, hanging her head, sulking. "So we could be out doing something productive…"

"But instead we're dealing with the stupid things you did. Yes, pretty much."

"I hate consequences," She moaned.

"Don't we all just?" He said cheerfully. "Don't worry about it, it'll be fun. Dusk and you are the one who are the ones suspected broke into her house."

"Someone broke into her house?"

"This morning, yes. Apparently, Miss Ray's grandfather had sent her a protective statue that even she didn't know about, and that dealt with the intruder, but the intruder wasn't caught. Wearing black, and talented enough to escape a guardian statue of a rich family. People suspect you, who fought her or Dusk, who's been seen around."

"I see," Valkyrie said, "I'm not sure whether to be insulted they think I'd go out of my way for that little idoit, or be complimented that they think I have the skills to break into Mevolent's house." She nodded once, "Cool."

"Well, you're wrong about that. She doesn't live with Mevolent, she's not his wife yet, remember? She lives in a mansion in county Cork with a hundred or so servants, an elderly grandmother and a group of bodyguards. Or she did, anyway, but obviously the bodyguards were all killed."

"We've got to find there killer, too, then, and keep Miss Ray safe?"

"Yes. We're not looking at a passive killer here, Valkyrie. The guards and a few of the servants- a total of ten died- were all violently murdered. Have you eaten lunch?"

"Last time I ate was yesterday, when we finally got a break in the schedule." She pretended to complain.

"Good. There's already enough vomit around the crime scene, we don't want anymore."

"We are going to the crime scene, then? If the killer was just after Ray, and was willing to go to such a length to get to her, only to be stopped by that guardian, which is pretty easily dismantled once you know of it, isn't it safe to say that the killer will come back for her, one way or another?"

Skulduggery nodded. "Well, aren't you starting to think." He teased.

She sighed. "Why are we going to the crime scene, Skulduggery?"

"To know what we need to know, so we can do what needs to be done, and know what we'll have known by then."

She turned and started walking, not bothering to try to decipher whatever nonsense Skulduggery was spouting out.

"We haven't got all day, Skulduggery. Best we hurry up and know what we need to know."

"Now you're starting to understand it."


	10. Chapter 10

**And…. I'm back! The tenth chapter! Whoo-hoo! Big thanks to Melody Luna, for inspiring me to write this chapter (actually just requesting that I get on with it. Sorry it took me so long.)**

"Whore." Miss Ray muttered to herself as Valkyrie swept the room. She traced her finger over the surfaces of the furniture where the fighting had taken place and considered the size and strength of a man it would take to do this much damage. The room wasn't that big, with only Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Miss Ray in it. "Man-stealer."

"You, Miss Ray, are a delusional anxious psychopath." Valkyrie drew the conclusion. Skulduggery joined her side, his hands tucked casually inside his professional striped suit, his hat pulled fashionably over where his eyes used to be. "And, more to the point, the victim of a vampire attack."

"That true," Skulduggery said, "any specialist you have come in will confirm it. Explain it to the poor simpleton, my dear partner."

_"Don't_ call me a simpleton, hired-help." Miss Ray retorted back in her high, passive voice. It sounded like it'd taken her a lot of effort to come up with an insult more creative than _whore,_ and the best she could think of was… _hired-help._

"Skulduggery, what have we agreed upon about not talking to idiots?"

"I said, don't call me—"

"I know what you said." Valkyrie said coldly. The two women glowered at each other. Skulduggery interrupted in that lovely flowing voice of his.

"She's a victim, Valkyrie, and so there are certain things she must be told. You, Miss Ray, are the victim of a vampire attack. The evidence of that is, well, the very obvious bottle of serum that we found laying around where the vampire fought. Pretty obvious, even for someone who's not a detective."

"That's right." Valkyrie said. "You're probably being stalked by a vampire. It happens to good people all the time: I wouldn't be too distressed about it. Better people than you—and I mean _me_—have lived through being stalked perfectly fine."

Miss Ray looked like she needed to take a seat on the soft, white furniture of the tearoom where most of the bodies had been found. She looked like she was about to swoon; it was Valkyrie's opinion to let her fall.

"But…" Miss Ray quivered. "I'll be _married_ soon. I'm marrying Mevolent soon, and he's, he's just so _fantastic _that I can't even bare to imagine what he'd think if he found out I was being stalked by a… _vampire."_

"He'll probably want to buy life insurance," Valkyrie chuckled.

"How can you even joke about that, prostitute?"

"Ooohh—someone's getting feisty now. What other clichés will you call me next? Slut? I'm desperate to know, just so long as you understand that I am, and always will be, much, much better than you. In everything." Valkyrie said, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. She had the feeling of the air being off in the room. Forgetting Miss Ray, she turned to Skulduggery with a frown on her face. He stood there frozen, with a gun to his head.

Miss Ray screamed, and Valkyrie cursed, just as another gun pressed coldly against the top of her spin and the bottom of her head. Valkyrie froze, and brazed for action.

"It seems like fate that we should met again so soon."

"Last time you peeped on me in the shower; this time you point a gun to me head. You have a talent for endearing yourself, don't you?"

"I feel no need to endear myself to you. If you want to get naked again in front of me, though, I might be convinced to leave peacefully."

"Might?"

"Well, probably not. Want to wear a maid outfit?"

"I have a schoolgirl outfit at home. I'll slip it on next time you decide to drop by." She muttered, her voice dripping in sarcasm. Dusk purred and slid the gun around to the side of her head so he could smell the back of her neck. "You vampires are so predictable. You always go to for the neck."

"It's delicious, and I'd love to sink my teeth in, believe me, but I'll have to hold back, I think. I have someone to kill. It's Miss Ray."

Valkyrie shifted farther away from Skulduggery and closer to Miss Ray. Dusk cocked the gun warningly, and she stilled. "What could you possibly want with a little girl like her, not hurting anyone?"

"I've been in the business too long to respond to something like that."

"Make a deal with me: school girl outfit—one day, not today—and you tell me everything. Maybe over a pillow."

Skulduggery spoke up, "Valkyrie, I don't think that's how I taught you to be a detective. Dusk, I don't think I can let you do that. I can't let you _do_ Valkyrie, either."

"You're right, I can't do both, actually, and if you try to move, detectives, you'll both get a bullet through your head. Minion 1; make sure they don't move. If they do, kill them." An old man, his throat torn and his eyes shot red, stumbled forward and took the gun from Dusk's hand. Valkyrie took a breath. Skulduggery didn't need to, his hand snapped up and the gun flew away, slamming into the ceiling before spinning across the dark hardwood floor.

It hardly mattered; the gun wasn't close to the most dangerous thing. Dusk snarled, and the infected screamed and Dusk's hand slammed into her back like a freight train, slamming her face first into the wall and Valkyrie felt pain lace up her face. She moaned at first, but then she was back up on her feet, holding her nose into place and moving towards Miss Ray. Skulduggery's hand flashed with fire, and Dusk spun away, tripping over the slower infected. Skulduggery's foot caught his chin and sent him spinning.

"I don't _like_ when Valkyrie flirts with evil people. It makes me angry. I'm going to take that out on you. You. Can't. See. Valkyrie. Naked. Like. I can." As he said it, he was bending Dusk's wrist back with a snap. Dusk hardly flinched, instead reaching up and grabbing the infected with his free hand. He used the infected as a hammer to slam into Skulduggery, throwing him and the infected across the room. Miss Ray began to scream.

"I'm going to need you to look past the vampire," Valkyrie said as she dragged Miss Ray half way across the room, and shoved her behind a stiff couch. "And the joking, and the thing where he's probably going to kill you."

A low, pathetic sound grew in the back of Miss Ray's throat. Her big eyes were filled with tears, and she began to gasp. Valkyrie knew that in a second Dusk would be up and coming at them again. She braced herself against wall and set her feet against the couch. Dusk gave away his position with a snarl as he popped his wrist back into place. Her eyes closed, her hand raised and then the couch snapped out. The bad piece of furniture flew hard into the vampire's face, and Miss Ray began to cry. She slapped the girl across the face, and forced her to her feet.

"Mevolent needs his sweet little wife, doesn't he?" She said, and Miss Ray was beginning to quiet down, as the bullet entered her skull. Valkyrie instantly let go, letting Miss Ray—no, Miss Ray's corpse—collapse to the floor. She felt herself breathing hard, and heard the couch being moved away.

_Don't think about it._ A soothing voice in her head suggested. If the bullet had been a mere few inches off, it would've been Valkyrie's head. _Notice: who did it? _Valkyrie dragged her dark eyes away from the fallen girl, and looked up to the staircase, where a younger, infected woman stood. Minion 2. Damn it. They'd assumed, falsely, that Dusk only had had one Minion with him. Valkyrie heard the door slam open behind them, and spun, her hand ablaze with fire. Minion 3 walked in the door, and Valkyrie heard Skulduggery's gun click. She backed up to him, the two of them standing back to back, with Skulduggery facing a minion and Dusk, and Valkyrie facing two minions.

"That's it. We're leaving," She heard Dusk's heavy voice say as he moved the couch away from him, standing up gracefully. "We have no business with these two."

"Oh, but we have business with you. Sure you wouldn't mind staying and chatting with us?" Skulduggery asked, and Dusk bent his neck back into place with a wry smile.

"No, thanks. I'm sure you have a lot of reporting to Mevolent to do."

"I report to the Council of Elders."

"Same thing, isn't it?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Skulduggery's gun went off once, twice, and with a hiss of pain and a blur, Dusk was gone. The minions, moving slower, attempted to follow him until Valkyrie hand snapped against the air, pinning one infected against the wall with a thud, and letting the others escape.

"Damn it, she's dead." Valkyrie said woodenly. She hadn't even liked Miss Ray.

"Yeah, she is, and now we have a lot of work to do. Reports to make, claims to throw off, and probably a fistfight or two. Oh, and Valkyrie? Promise me that if you sleep with Dusk this time, you'll at least use protection."

**Ta-da! Sorry for the spelling/grammar/use of words errors in here. I'm just too lazy to edit. You understand it though, don't you?**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back, after taking a few months break… sorry there's such huge gaps of time between chapters, I'm an avid reader and that's something I find frustrating when other people do. My apology. I'll try to write the next chapter next week.**

"You were there," Ravel clarified, rubbing his fingers into his sore shoulders. "When Dusk came in and killed the wife of Mevolent. You were there?" He rose from his chair slowly, like an old man might except Ravel looked as young and dashing as ever, and Valkyrie became used to seeing him with dark circles around those exceptionally bright eyes. "Well?" There was no irritation under his voice. Ravel understood how tricky field situations could become. "There was nothing you got from it?"

"Dusk and his minions smelled like oil, some mechanics." Valkyrie piped up. Skulduggery nodded his agreement.

"And of course there was a torn hole on his—"

"—Left shirt," Valkyrie stole it away, hiding a grin. "Like it got caught in machinery." Skulduggery sighed.

"But what does that really give us? In the next hour or so, the message will have to be passed onto Mevolent. He is not going to be happy if we don't at least have a lead to follow, you understand that?"

"We'll get right on it. We have a reliable source that tells us that some vampires have recently moved into a large mansion in Killarney, the deceased owner worked improving machine faculties around the world. We'll stake the place out and bring Dusk in for questioning."

"You two never cease to amaze me. You're the best." The Grand Mage said as Valkyrie stood behind him and compassionately gave his shoulders a quick massage, which she knew both he and Ghastly sorely needed. He gave her a sigh of appreciation.

"Thank you." Skulduggery said.

"I only meant Valkyrie." He said and Skulduggery grumbled. The smile Cain gave him was enough to lift his spirits up though and he gestured for her to take the lead out the door.

"If you don't mind, Elder Ravel, I'll be taking back my partner now."

"I do mind." Ravel muttered, "Very much, but you don't care, do you?"

"I care," Valkyrie said, "and I appreciate it. You're a sweetheart, Ravel, and I'll see you later to talk to you about the few months break I'll need after I give birth."

"What?"

"Will you come to the baby shower if you get the time? I'd love to have you." Valkyrie smiled brightly and the Elders all began talking at once, filling the room with chaos even as she was walking away. She chuckled to herself. "Definitely you too, Ghastly. I need all of your support on this, okay? It's only a few months away."

_"You're pregnant!" _Ghastly sputtered, on his feet and his eyes bright.

_ "_Dear God, Valkyrie! Why was this kept a secret? This is fantastic! We'll give you as much time away with your child as you need. A baby! I'm going to be like an Uncle!" Ravel cheered, clapping excitedly.

"You're not an Uncle, Ravel—when are you due, Valkyrie? How far along are you? This is fantastic. You'll be a terrific mother, Val. Wait…"

"Wait…" Ravel echoed, the same question occurring to them in union.

"Valkyrie, don't leave. We have to ask…" Mist voiced, and Valkyrie pushed out the doors.

_"Who's the father?"_ They asked together.

The halls of the Sanctuary were a buzz with energy and problems, as usual, and the detectives strode through it all unaffected by the office workers daily problems. When they passed, even Faceless Worshipper quieted down and bowed their heads with respect. Skulduggery and Valkyrie had certainly earned a reputation for themselves.

"What's next?" Valkyrie asked.

"What?"

"What's next? You know, I know we failed to protect Miss Ray, but surely it's time for a new investigation. Dusk isn't a threat that really requires our attention, not really now that we have so many more powerful sorcerers working with us. So, what's the next investigation?"

"Ah, Valkyrie, you're not looking into this case as much as you should be. There are more forces behind this than a simple disgruntled vampire killing the fiancé of Mevolent. Dusk, when he doesn't have a purpose, is a basic free-lance warrior and assassin. And…"

"Ah, I see. So, like always, we're letting other people hunt down Dusk and going after the bigger fish for ourselves? The people who wanted Miss Ray dead."

"Exactly. And who would have wanted Miss Ray dead?"

"Me. Anyone else her infuriatingly passive attitude managed to upset."

"You know, not everyone dislikes gentle people like we do. I very much doubt her mere personality would cause someone to hold such a grudge as to murder her… beside you. What other reasons? You know the most about her, you looked her up alone after the catfight."

She sighed and turned her head to the side, her hair falling over part of her face. "Miss Ray is the daughter of Elder Strom of the British Sanctuary, and Catherina Weeps, a prominent mascot of the Church of the faceless. She grew up with her mother in County Cork, attended parties, and basically acted like a proper young lady, and by that I mean doing nothing of any importance. Because of her parentage, she became a symbol of peace between the Church of the Faceless and the Sanctuary. She was scheduled to become Mevolent's third wife on June 3rd, three months away from now exactly. The only people even remotely interested in stopping this and killing her would be anyone opposed to the treaty between Sanctuary and Church, which is a lot of people."

"Thank you, Valkyrie. And there's also one more person you're forgetting."

"Oh?'

"Mevolent has a long and uneven history of marrying the weak-willed daughters of rich family and then killing them off once they've outdone their usefulness. If this is the case, and he has ordered her death, which wouldn't surprise me, then we do nothing."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's politics. If we suddenly were to accuse Mevolent of murder, it'd be war again, and we'd be at fault for it. Only one thing can put Mevolent in a cell, and that's a strike against the Sanctuary and genocide of the mortals. Ravel might not like it, might not agree with it, but even he will refute any other accusations if it means keeping Mevolent's alliances. Miss Ray just isn't enough of an important person to justify starting a war that we might not win. But we investigate it anyways, if the case were that Mevolent didn't kill her. If he has, there's nothing legal we can do about it."

"So what you're basically saying is that Mevolent will never pay for the crime of killing Miss Ray."

"Maybe he will someday. But that's far off, Valkyrie, sometimes in these situations, patience is the best answer…" Skulduggery Pleasant trailed off, and if he'd had a face, he would have grinned. As it was, he only tipped his hat. Valkyrie's face was changed with determination.

"If he's killed her, I'll make Mevolent suffer. Whether it's legal or not, no matter who Miss Ray was… she was innocent, Skulduggery. I might have hated her, but she's someone's family. I'll make Mevolent regret he's ever been born if he's killed her."

"Thought you hated her."

"She was spineless, sentimental, and a fool. Maybe, when Alice grows up, she'll be just like that, too. That doesn't make either of them less important. I'll kill him, Skulduggery, you know I will."

"And I'll be right there beside you will you do that, Valkyrie Cain. I always will." Skulduggery unlocked the Bentley and they strode to their next adventure.

**Ah, foreshadowing the problems Valkyrie's going to cause… and maybe we'll see the baby again soon, and let Valkyrie know who the father is…**


End file.
